50 The Camping Trip

Emily saw Aiden and Cyril from afar, standing near the buses, talking with each other. She smiled and ran towards them, "Hey, guys!" She greeted and pulled the two in a hug. The three of them started a conversation, while they waited for everyone to gather and departure for the trip. Just then Emily's phone started ringing, looking at the number, it was Linda! Oh shoot! She had forgotten to call her this morning. Oh well, she's calling her right now, so nothing to be worried about. Emily picked up the call.

"Emily!!! Oh my gosh! So much has happened in my absence... I'm coming back. Hahaha." Linda said, faking a sad voice. Emily laughed, "Haha. What's up?" "Eh, nothing. Just had break from classes, so I thought I'd call you before you leave for the trip." Linda replied. They started talking casually, while Aiden and Cyril just looked at her.

"It's your friend Linda, right?" Cyril asked Emily. "Yup, why?" Emily nodded in response. "Say hi to her from me." Cyril smiled. Emily conveyed her message and Linda started screaming, "OH MY GOD! C-CYRIL SAID HI T-TO ME?!" Emily placed the cellphone from away from her ear when Linda screamed. Gosh, she'll make me deaf, Emily laughed.

Cyril heard Linda's voice and chuckled. "How are you Linda? Do you miss me?" He teased her further. Linda heard him, while half stuttering and half screaming she said, "O-oh my g-goodness... I-I'm great! U-uh... Y-yes! I m-miss you so MUCH. AAHH." They all laughed and had a long friendly chat with Linda before she told them that she had to go for class and ended the call.

Their timing was perfect because the teachers had started to gather the students and get them seated in their buses. Emily, Aiden and Cyril got seated close to each other. Emily sat with Cyril, while Aiden was behind Cyril, near the window with an empty seat to his left. They were the first to be seated in their bus and quietly watched as the rest of the students started to come inside and settle down.

Among those people, Emily saw Ivy. But as soon as she glanced towards the three of them, Emily quickly looked away and avoided eye contact. She eyed the three of them, finding an empty seat beside Aiden, her eyes lit up and she abandoned Hazel while rushing towards the empty seat and settled down gracefully. Her face filled with glee and triumph. Emily secretly scoffed as she ignored her.

When they all had settled, the teacher in-charge of their bus came in and gave a long lecture of safety precautions. Everyone was about to fall asleep when the engine suddenly started and so did the cheers and shouts of the students. "Don't lose your energy till we reach our destination, it's a four hour long journey!" The teacher smiled brightly and sat down on her seat.

Ivy grabbed Aiden's arm in a coquettish manner and said while pouting, "Hey, Aiden! You did not even say hi to me." "Hi." Aiden replied blankly as he kept his eyes outside the bus. Ivy clenched her teeth and tried again, forcing a smile. "You can't just sit like this for four hours, right? You'll die of boredom. Let's talk all the way." "No, thanks. I'm perfectly fine." Aiden responded sternly. Ivy sighed as she gave up. Emily popped her head in between the seats as she asked Aiden and completely ignored Ivy, "Hey, Aiden, let's try to entertain ourselves on this trip! Hurry and think of something."

Aiden flashed a toothy smile and replied, "How about we tell jokes and ask some riddles?" "That's a great idea! How about you start?" Emily replied joyfully.

Hearing the two of them talk and a total flip in Aiden's behavior, put Ivy in a shock as she listened to Emily chuckle which felt like thorns piercing her ears. She silently started to think of ways to get rid of Emily and spend time with Aiden, which was totally impossible at the moment but something was better than nothing.

Their journey was going really smooth and the bus was filled with laughter. Even Hazel had found someone nice to talk to. The only person in a bad mood was Ivy who was sulking beside Aiden, who was busy with Emily and Cyril and completely ignored her.

Two hours had passed and the noise started to quieten down a bit because they started to get a little tired by talking continuously and sitting in the same position without stretching. Emily yawned and stretched her arms and legs a bit and tilted her head to doze off for a while. It was twelve in the afternoon and it seemed like everybody needed a nap.

Emily was adjusting her position when Cyril's low voice rang through her ears, "You can keep your head on my shoulder if you want." He said, grinning. Emily blushed a little, she wanted to refuse but his shoulder looked so comfy. She nodded with her eyes half shut and leaned on his shoulder and went to a slumber. Cyril smiled, placing his head with hers and also dozing off.

Aiden had been looking at her for a while now and when the two placed their head with each other, an indescribable jealousy rose in his heart. He diverted his attention to the view outside. Moments later, something heavy was placed on his shoulder as he turned to look, he realized Ivy had settled her head on his shoulder. He was enraged. What was she trying to do?!

"What are you trying to do?" Aiden asked while frowning. "I.. Uh.. I'm taking a little rest." Ivy muttered. "Please keep your head somewhere else, I'll have a shoulder ache." Aiden said boot-faced and turned away.